Swedish Defence University
Not a member yet
3733 research outputs found
Sort by
Writing Brave Women : An Exercise in Academic Publishing as Feminist Solidarity
No full textWhat does it mean to be a brave woman? In 2020, we saw Belarusian women take to the streets dressed in white to oppose the violent dictatorship that had been in power for twenty-six years. In 2021, our television screens showed the Fall of Kabul, and the takeover by Taliban fighters, who overnight began to reverse decades of women’s empowerment. In response, and despite the risks, women demonstrators took to the streets in Kabul to demand their rights to work, education, and political participation. And in late 2022, we saw Iranian women fight for freedom, cutting their hair and burning their headscarves as they called for women’s rights in the context of brutal repression. These are but a handful of the myriad examples of women transgressing what is societally expected of them. They go out into the streets, they post on social media, they protest governments and make demands for change. Around the world, we see women being brave. They do so at great personal risk, and often when the potential benefits of being brave are infinitesimally small
To serve or refuse conscription? An interview study on young people's attitudes towards conscription considering the security situation in the year 2025
No full textDenna studie undersöker hur ungas motivation att genomföra värnplikt påverkas av Sveriges förändrade säkerhetspolitiska läge. Syftet har varit att ge en fördjupad och aktuell bild av ungas inställning till värnplikten, bortom enkätdata, och på så sätt bidra till att fylla en forskningslucka. En kvalitativ fallstudiedesign användes med digitala semi-strukturerade samtalsintervjuer. Urvalet bestod av nio myndiga svenska ungdomar som fyllt i mönstringsunderlaget men ännu inte påbörjat värnplikten. Data analyserades med induktiv tematisk analys, innefattande både manifest och latent tolkning. Resultatet visar att det säkerhetspolitiska läget endast i begränsad omfattning påverkar motivationen hos unga. Istället framstår den upplevda erfarenheten av värnplikten, såsom personlig utveckling, kompetensförvärv, gemenskap och äventyr, som mer avgörande för motivationen att tjänstgöra. Intervjupersonerna påverkades i högre grad av berättelser från närstående och information om vardagen som värnpliktig än av det förvärrade säkerhetsläget. Även om viss oro för säkerhetsläget fanns, betraktades inte hotet mot Sverige som tillräckligt akut för att påverka motivationen för värnplikten. Känslan av självbestämmande via mönstringsunderlaget bidrog dessutom till en upplevd distans till säkerhetsläget. Slutsatsen är att ungas motivation till värnplikten i första hand drivs av personliga vinster, självförverkligande och upplevelser snarare än av pliktkänsla. Detta förklaras delvis av att de vuxit upp i en tid präglad av kriser och befinner sig i en ålder som präglas av fokus på sin egen utveckling. Delvis förklaras det också av en alltmer framträdande gränsöverskridande identitetspolitisk gemenskap, samt en känsla av maktlöshet inför globala hot.This study explores how young people's motivation to enroll in military conscription is influenced by Sweden’s changing security environment. The aim has been to provide a nuanced and up-to-date understanding of young peoples attitudes toward conscription, beyond survey data, thereby addressing a research gap. A qualitative case study design was employed using digital semi-structured interviews. The sample consisted of nine legal-age Swedish youths who had completed the initial conscription registration but had not yet started military service. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis, incorporating both manifest and latent interpretation. The results show that Sweden’s security situation has only a limited impact on young people's motivation. Instead, the perceived experience of conscription, such as personal development, skill acquisition, social belonging, and adventure, appears more significant in shaping their willingness to serve. Participants were more influenced by stories from friends and family and by information about daily life in the military than by the declining global security environment. Although some concern about the security situation was expressed, the threat to Sweden was not perceived as urgent enough to affect motivation significantly. The sense of autonomy, enabled through the initial registration process, also contributed to a perceived distance from geopolitical concerns. The conclusion is that young people's motivation for conscription is primarily driven by personal gains, self-realization, and lived experience rather than by a sense of duty. This can partly be explained by their upbringing in a time marked by crises and a life phase focused on individual development. It is also influenced by an emerging transnational identity-based solidarity and a sense of powerlessness in the face of global threats
Kan försvaret växa i sin gamla kostym? En jämförande studie av reglementen för mobilisering
No full textThis paper examines Swedish regulatory literature for mobilization in order to determine whether the current literature is suitable for the growing Swedish wartime-organization or if new literature needs to be produced to meet the demands of a larger organization. Current literature was produced during the mid 2010s and was officially adopted in 2018. At which point, the Swedish armed forces were considerably smaller than they are today, and substantially smaller than during the time when the preceding literature was being produced, in the early 1980s. It is against this background, the fact that current literature for mobilization was written for a very different armed force than we have today, that this study is conducted. Using resource mobilization theory from the field of sociology, the study examines two regulatory literatures using three distinct categories from the theory. Central themes which are deemed vital for large-scale mobilization are first identified in the older literature from the 80s. Current literature is then analyzed with regards to said themes. The study finds that new regulatory literature needs to be produced promptly, taking into account the conclusions drawn in this study, presented in the closing chapter Proposal for revision. Resource mobilization theory has proven useful and well-suited for the study, despite it being an unconventional choice for military studies
From Beginning to Ende: Situating the Zeitenwende : An Ideal-Type Analysis of German Strategic Culture 1994-2023
No full textThis thesis explores the continuity and change in German strategic culture from 1994 to 2023. Germany’s security and defense policy has for long been explained primarily by cultural factors. However, the 2022 Zeitenwende, a dramatic turnaround in German defense policy, seemingly challenges Germany’s anti-militarist identity. This raises critical questions about cultural frameworks and their relevance. This is addressed using an ideal-type analysis based on a fourth-generation, weak interpretivist framework for strategic culture, with perception of the strategic environment and doctrine as its dimensions. By analyzing key policy documents from 1994 to 2023, the analysis finds that German strategic culture has been changing over this period, while maintaining several attributes. The perception of the strategic environment has shifted from peaceful to competitive, while doctrine has shifted between territorial defense and expeditionary forces. By setting out from the cultural underpinnings of doctrine, the analysis shows how shocks to the perception of the strategic environment can challenge prevailing ideas, as well as the continued relevance of cultural frameworks. The framework re-frames previous research on German strategic culture and provides a model for how similar studies can be conducted in other contexts. It also calls for further investigation into the political processes involved in these shifts, offering many possibilities for future research
The Cost of Cooperation : A quantitative study on how alliance types affect military expenditure
No full textMilitary alliances continue to shape the global security landscape, yet existing research often overlooks the diverse nature of these alliances when examining their influence on states military expenditures. In this thesis, I investigate how four distinct alliance types in offence pacts, defence pacts, consultation pacts, and shallow pacts, affect a country’s defence spending. My main argument is that deeper commitments and military obligations should exert a greater financial burden, thereby increasing military budgets, while alliances that lack these commitments and military obligations should have a minimal effect. To assess these claims, I use an adapted cross-national dataset spanning from 1949-2018 capturing alliance arrangements and military expenditures. I conducted an analysis of the dataset utilizing quantitative methods. Contrary to expectations, the findings reveal that only offensive alliances and consultation pacts have a statistically significant effect on military expenditure, with both demonstrating a positive relationship. Neither defence pacts nor shallow pacts show a statistically significant effect on military expenditure. This result underscores the importance of differentiating among alliance types when assessing the effect that alliances have on military expenditure
Asymmetrisk sjökrigföring : Den underlägsna statens räddning i maritima konflikter?
No full textThis paper examines how Ukraine, despite its inherent technological and numerical disadvantages, successfully denied its opponent control of the sea in the ongoing Russo-Ukraine war by employing innovative contemporary technologies and asymmetric strategies in the naval domain. To develop a deeper understanding of the successful usage of these asymmetric strategies a qualitative case study will be conducted using Milan Vego's theory of Sea denial. Vego ́s theory provides a framework to structure the analysis and understand how these strategies have disputed Russian sea control throughout the conflict. The result of this paper shows how Ukraine has avoided concentrated attacks, instead favouring sporadic, small-scale offensive actions through asymmetric methods. This approach has enabled Ukraine to be strategically defensive while allowing unpredictable operational and tactical offensive actions across the entire area of operations. The findings also illustrate how Ukraine has continuously adapted these methods throughout the conflict and highlight how asymmetric naval warfare can be a powerful tool for an inferior state to counter numerical and technological superiority.
Hotbildens påverkan på militär innovation : en teoriprövande fallstudie av förslagsverksamheten i Hemvärnet
No full textResearch on military innovation has traditionally been conducted from a top-down perspective. My study aims to highlight the role of the individual from a bottom-up perspective. By studying the Home Guard and their legal right to influence and individuals’ opportunity to propose improvements and adaptations to military innovation, I will examine how this has been affected by the outbreak of the Ukrainian war. With a theoretically testing comparison of two comparable cases from the period immediately before and after the outbreak of the war, I will have the opportunity to measure what impact the changed threat after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine has had on innovation within the Home Guard. The result shows a causal relationship between the new threat and increased military innovation, where the factor is increased unit activity with a considerable increase in the number of innovation proposals after the outbreak of the war.
Att konstruera hotet : En kritisk diskursanalys av Musts årsöversikter 2014 – 2024
No full textThis thesis investigates how the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service (Must) discursively constructs and legitimizes the Russian threat in its annual reviews (2014 – 2024). Drawing on critical discourse analysis, Van Leeuwen´s legitimation framework and a critical intelligence studies (CIS) perspective, the study explores how linguistic choices, and discursive practices interact with social structures and power relations. The findings reveal a stable construction of Russia as a threat, initially vague but developing after 2019 into a more explicit threat narrative and legitimized primarily through authorization and rationalization strategies. Must is interpreted from a CIS-perspective, as an authoritative knowledge actor, its discourse narrows the space for alternative interpretations and contributes to reinforce the government’s dominant security agenda. While reinforcing institutional authority, the discourse risks reducing the democratic debate. The thesis argues that greater transparency and reflexivity are essential to balance authority and legitimacy.
Att synas eller att inte finnas : Danmarks nedläggning av ubåtsvapnet
No full textDenna masteruppsats undersöker drivkrafterna bakom Danmarks unika beslut att avveckla sin ubåtsförmåga, trots pågående anskaffningsplaner och framgångsrika operationella insatser. Genom att tillämpa Graham Allisons tre beslutsmodeller – den rationella aktören, organisatoriskt beteende och statlig politik – samt teorin om stigberoende, analyseras officiella dokument i kombination med intervjuer med centrala aktörer inom det danska försvaret. Studien visar att beslutet inte enbart motiverades av förändrade hotbilder efter kalla krigets slut. Istället framträder en mer komplex bild där institutionellt motstånd, rivalitet mellan försvarsgrenarna och förändrade politiska prioriteringar samverkade. Ubåtsförmågan fick ge vika till förmån för kapaciteter som ansågs mer relevanta för internationella insatser, i linje med Danmarks förändrade försvarsstrategi. Analysen visar att organisatoriska och politiska faktorer hade större förklaringsvärde än strikt strategiska eller ekonomiska överväganden. Studien bidrar till en fördjupad förståelse av hur försvarsförmågor kan avvecklas och belyser den avgörande roll som interna maktstrukturer spelar i utformningen av nationella säkerhetspolitiska beslut.This thesis explores the motivations behind Denmark’s unique decision to decommission its submarine capability, despite ongoing procurement plans and successful operational deployments. Using Graham Allison’s decision-making models – rational actor, organisational behaviour, and governmental politics – alongside path dependency, the study analyses official documents and interviews key defence stakeholders. The findings show that the decision was not solely based on changing threat perceptions after the Cold War. Instead, it resulted from a convergence of institutional resistance, inter-service rivalry, and shifting political priorities. The submarine capability was deprioritised in favour of assets perceived as more relevant to international operations, aligning with Denmark’s evolving defence strategy. The analysis reveals that organisational and political dynamics had greater explanatory power than purely strategic or economic considerations. This study contributes to a broader understanding of defence capability disbandment and highlights the importance of internal power structures in shaping national security decisions
Kulturen under ytan : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om hur organisationskultur påverkar jämställdhet inom Försvarsmakten
No full textHow do officers and warrant officers in the Swedish Army perceive that organizational culture, according to Edgar Schein’s model, promotes or hinders efforts to achieve gender equality? Despite formal commitments to equality, the cultural dynamics behind such efforts in military settings remain underexplored. This thesis examines the issue through a theory-driven thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with key cultural actors in the Swedish Armed Forces. Using Schein’s three-level framework: artefacts, espoused values, and underlying assumptions, the study identifies tensions between formal policies and cultural norms. While initiatives like gender-adapted equipment and infrastructure indicate progress at the artefact level, traditional views on leadership and competence continue to reinforce gendered assumptions. The study finds that meaningful change requires alignment across all cultural levels and emphasizes the pivotal role of leadership in challenging rooted norms. The findings contribute to war studies by clarifying how cultural patterns influence equality and inclusion in military organizations